Shantel's Conquest
by crazywriter9
Summary: Join Shantel as she storms the Hoenn region, looking to become the foreign champion of the Evere Grande City! Will it be so simple? What could be lurking in the shadow of this region?
1. Prologue: The Move

**Author's Note: Hello this is crazywriter9! I figured because this takes place at the same time as Alana's Trial, I'd release it at the same time to reduce confusion. This will be my official second story posted so please give me feedback and constructive criticism.**

The sun was rising in Johto creating a beautiful golden hue in the biggest city of the region, Goldenrod. The people of the city were mostly still asleep, except for a couple establishments. One of these businesses was the local Game Corner. It had not been there long it had just gone up a week ago. The owner of this establishment, Mr. Game, was pleasantly surprised. An eleven year old had come in around thirty minutes ago (The minimal age to be participating in these games) and began to play a string of matches against him. She was a brunette and seemed to be in her night wear. She had baggy pants on and a lose fitting t-shirt. Her hair was long, but unkempt and frazzled. She looked like she had just woken up. At first she had seemed like someone he wouldn't be able to play a good match against. To his surprise, she had progressively begun to get better as time went by. She began to anticipate where he placed the voltorb cards verses the coin cards. Instead of losing on the first round she was getting to the second and sometimes third rounds. The Game corner mostly had older visitors, and it was refreshing to see a younger person taking an interest in his card flip game. Mr. Game figured he'd at least make some small talk with this girl he was playing with.

"So are you in town for a badge?" Mr. Game asked. "I hear there is a rather challenging gym in this town."

"No I live here." Shantel replied. "I'm moving later today, so I figured I'd come here. This is the only place I haven't been to in this city."

"How long have you lived here?" Mr. Game asked. "What made you and your family decide to move?"

"I've lived here all my life," Shantel answered. She flipped over a card and exhauled heavily after seeing that is was a Voltorb. "I was born here. I live with my mom and my big sister. My dad used to live with us, but he had to go to another region to better support us. He's been living there by himself for a year. Recently he became a gym leader, so he called us out."

"Interesting," Mr. Game replied, resetting the board. "So you're family is moving to this region? Where is it located?"

"It's some place called Hoenn." Shantel answered flipping over two cards, mentally cheering, because she had flipped a protection card.

The door to the game shop opened and a girl with pink hair ran in frantically rushed in. She was wearing a pink shirt and pink sweatpants. She had pink middle length hair. It looked like she had been running around for awhile. She was breathing heavily and had a distressed look on her face.

"There you are Shantel!" She announced frantically. Shantel rolled her eyes and flipping more of the cards. "I've been looking all over for you! Mom woke up and you were missing! You guys are about to leave!"

"I left a note in my room it's not a big deal Whitney." Shantel replied rolling her eyes. She flipped another card and finished the set. She figured this would be the last game she played. Otherwise Whitney would literally drag her out.

Shantel pulled out her Pokegear and checked the time. Of course the alarm hadn't gone off on her Pokegear. It had been faulty ever since she'd dropped it in that lake. She hadn't been able to take it to the repair shop yet. She'd have to see if the city she moved into had one. She quickly finished the game and called it quits. Shantel loved playing games, but she knew it was time to leave.

"Thank you for the fun game." Shantel said gratefully. "I like talking with you it helped me get some frustration off my chest."

"Here before you go take this." The man replied. He produced a leather case. "It's a coin case. You can put your winnings in it."

Shantel took the case and left with her sister. Once she returned home she got a stern lecture from her mom. Even though she had left a note, sneaking out early in the morning still wasn't acceptable. It didn't really faze her much though. She was leaving everything to go to this other region. Whitney was getting to stay, because she was the Goldenrod City sub leader. The thing Shantel was most pissed about was her journey. She would've been able to start once she was 12, only three months from now! Shantel took one last look at the empty room half of her and Whitney's room. The movers had already came and took all of her stuff. She only had a bag with her handheld, a pillow, and a blanket. All the things that would keep her occupied on the 7 hour trip to Hoenn. Shantel grabbed her bag and said her final goodbyes to Whitney putting her older sister into tears. Even though Whitney could be a little eccentric sometimes (Like dyeing her hair pink cause it looked "cute".) she still wished her the best. Being a gym leader in training seemed like a lot of work, but Whitney was shouldering it just fine.

Shantel and her mother stayed silent on the way to the airport. They both had a lot on their mind and they preferred to just bask in it. Once they were on the plane Shantel couldn't help but sigh with sorrow. She'd miss Goldenrod City, not to mention her friends. Maybe when she got her Pokemon she could raise enough money to come back. She pulled her game out and began to play. The game was a play on one of the adventure books. You played as a trainer navigating a dungeon infested with unknown to save a dear one. You could chose between three character, but to get the true ending you had to finish each story. Shantel let herself get lost in the game as the plan left the Johto region behind.


	2. Chapter 1: Petaburg City

_**Author's Note: Back to Shantel's Conquest for the second Chanpter! I plan on releasing a couple of these to match the timeline Alana's trail has already set up. This chapter starts at the same time Alana and co arrive in Pewter City, so Shantel and crew are a bit behind them. Don't worry they will catch up eventually. There is actual some character's that appear in both stories, so watch out for them. Without further ado, please enjoy the first chapter of Shantel's Conquest.**_

"This house is so beautiful." Lorna sighed.

Lorna was exploring the house that her husband had prepared for them in Petalburg. The flight here had been pretty smooth. They had made it to Petalburg in one peace. Lorna sighed in content, she really loved this region. She had grown up here in this city, and she still remembered leaving to start her journey with Norman twenty years ago. They had also traveled through the regions of Kanto and Johto, before settling down. It seemed surreal that after all her years of adventuring; she'd end up back in her home town. It was a crazy coincidence, but when the old Petalburg leader had stepped down he had specifically called for Norman's family. Norman's friend, Professor Birch, had put in a good word for her husband, and their journey had come full circle.

Lorna finished her tour of the house taking in the new atmosphere. The weather out here was much warmer than Johto, and Kanto. She was extremely excited for what she had in store for Shantel. Shantel had seemed pretty disappointed that she had to move. She had definitely been looking forward to starting her journey once she had turned 12. Shantel had another thing coming. She didn't know that that the age of travel here was lower. You could start at the age of 10. Norman and Loren were going to surprise her with the news tomorrow, on Friday. They had Professor Birch coming out with his son on that day to make her status official. She had sent Shantel to her father's gym, so Loren could make the trainer documents official. She hid the paper in her room and waited for Shantel to come back.

Shantel was exploring the town under orders of her dad. He had sent her to get supplies for his gym. It seemed like they were trying to make her feel comfortable with her new situation. She had no idea when she'd be able to leave on her journey. She was almost done with the chores, when she came across a sight to behold. She saw a couple kids picking on a boy with green hair. He seemed like a fragile guy, and the jerks were throwing around what looked like an inhaler. She rolled her eyes in disgust. Couldn't they find something better with their time? Shantel waited until she saw the inhaler in mid-throw, then ran up and catch it before the other boy has a chance to. It went so much better in her mind. Instead of gracefully catching the inhaler in mid-air, it bounced out of her hand and fell in front of the green haired boy. Shantel fell to the ground with the grace of a pig.

"Who do you think you are?" the boys whine. "We were just having fun with our friend."

"Yeah right," Shantel responded getting up and dusting off her jeans. "This guy was clearly in distress."

The boys skulked off in a huff. It was fun messing with the boy, but it wouldn't be worth bullying that girl as well. Shantel breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't exactly the best in a fight, and she was glad that it didn't go in that direction.

"Thank you," The boy said expressing his gratitude.

Shantel focused more on the young boy who was being bullied. He had well kept green hair. He was wearing a light blue button up, with a pair of white slacks. It didn't seem like he got out often, because he was breathtakingly pale. He took a quick moment to dust himself off.

"Don't mention it," She replied.

The two stood there, an awkward silence filling the air. Shantel didn't know how to continue the conversation past that. They sort of just stared into each other's eyes. Icy blue met

"My name is Wally." He commented breaking the silence. "Wally Quinn, what's yours?"

"My name is Shantel Haruka." She responded. "I just moved here from a far away region."

"You're Norman's daughter!" Wally gushed. "That's so awesome! You must have a lot of strong Pokémon! What's it like to be around a gym."

"It's not that special," Shantel replied already becoming bored of this conversation. Everyone always wanted to know about the gym life. It was horribly dull. Everyone expected her to want to be a leader, but she had no intentions of becoming one. When they were living in Johto she had dreamed of becoming a champion, but that chance was shot. She had no chance in this foreign region. She had no friends, she only had her parents. her

"Oh," he said cutting his questions off there. He was curious about her life as a gym leader's daughter, but she seemed kind of distant. "Do you have any Pokémon of you own?"

"No," Shantel sighed. "I wanted to travel the region I was in before, but we moved here."

"How old are you?" Wally asked.

"You know it's not polite to ask a girl her age." Shantel replied coyly, slightly teasing Wally.

"No no no that's not what I meant!" Wally exclaimed, falling for Shantel's bait. "It's just that the age limit here is 10 years old! You seemed old enough to go off by yourself."

"I had no idea that the age limit was so low here!" Shantel exclaimed. "Thank you for the information Wally! You have no idea how much this information mean to me."

"It wasn't that much," Wally replied.

"Do you have any Pokémon?" Shantel asked brimming with new energy.

"No," Wally replied. "I want to catch one, but I have no Pokémon on me that I can use to get me. You see I have a severe case of asthma, so I want a Pokémon to keep me company. I wanted to get one before my move, but I can't convince my parents to help me."

Shantel's face twisted into a small devious smile. She pulled a couple of Great Balls from her pack presenting them to Wally. She had lifted them from her father's stash in hopes of obtaining a Pokémon of her own. Now she would have a friend to help her with her scheme. Shantel grabbed Wally's hand and pulled him in the direction of Route 102. They were going to catch their first Pokémon today! Wally just let himself be dragged along. This could be his last chance to obtain his own Pokémon before moving. It could be dangerous, but it Shantel was confident they could catch a Pokémon, who was Wally to object. They ran towards the plain area to stake out the local Pokémon. Shantel didn't know what type of Pokémon Hoenn had to offer, but she was excited nevertheless.

Wally and Shantel flew into route 102. The route was amazing! The trees were a perfect shade of emerald green. Shantel marveled in the trees unique coloring. It was Autumn, but the trees weren't changing colors yet. Shantel stopped dragging Wally once she saw her target. There were two Pokémon up ahead. They were huddled together, seemingly sleeping. They were humanoid looking Pokémon that looked like they were wearing white dresses. They had a green hair looking substance with a small feeler sticking out from it's head.

"Alright Wally," Shantel said creeping closer to the two Pokemon. "This is our shot! It looks like those two Pokémon are off guard!"

Shantel passed one of the great balls to Wally. They both mentally prepared themselves for this moment of truth. Wally decided the risk was worth the reward. He lobbed the ball with all the passion he could muster. The Pokémon suddenly glanced in his direction. It seemed like it was giving him a reassuring glance. The ball made contact with the small Pokémon and absorbed it into small capture device. It wiggled once, twice, three times before the ball settled comfortably in the grass. The whole world paused for Wally. It was like the moving through Jell-O. Wally approached the ball lying in the grass with the reverence someone would use approaching a king. He picked the Pokémon, no his Pokémon with a heart-warming smile. He would finally have a friend to comfort him in Verdanturf.

Shantel clutched the great ball in her hand. Her older sister had taught her how to do this. Her heart was burning on fire, but she felt amazing. She was in the middle an adrenaline rush. This would be her first Pokémon. She hurled her ball at the Pokémon. It gave a look in her as if to say 'you can do it', before it was absorbed into the ball. The great ball wiggled three times before coming to a halt. Shantel let out a sigh of relief. She walked up to the ball and clutched it close to her chest.

"Hey Wally," Shantel announced. "I'm leaving on my journey tomorrow. I'm going to become the champion of this region!"

Wally gasped in surprise. They had just gotten their first Pokémon, but she was already reaching for the stars! That must be the mindset of a gym leader's kid! All he had wanted was a companion, but she was already thinking that far ahead. He would have to figure out his own dream, too.

"Thank you Shantel." Wally said gratefully. "I'm moving tomorrow, but it's awesome I was able to make two friends today. If you get the chance, could you see me off tomorrow?"

"Of course!" She exclaimed. "Here's to an awesome first and last day in Petalburg!"

The two friends went back into Petalburg and headed to their respective houses. Shantel figured she'd have to hide her newly found partner from her parents for at least a day. She tried to sneak into her house, but she was greeted by her mom and dad.

"Hey Shantel were have you been? It been an hour since I sent you out for those Pokeballs." Norman commented.

Shantel laughed nervously trying to conceal the fact she had an occupied great ball behind her back.

"No, why," She commented dropping the ball into a bush near the entrance to the gym. She'd come back for it later.

"Nothing," Norman replied. "It's just that we need you to stay home tomorrow. I have a friend coming into town with his son. They wanted to meet you."

Shantel nodded. She now had her window to go on her journey. She'd see Wally off, then leave after meeting the friend of her fathers. She handed the balls to Norman and ran up to her room, where she got to work. She tied a medium sized magnet to a rope and shimmied it out of her window. Luckily, her room was directly below the entrance of the gym. She hooked the ball and pulled it up to her room.

"Now it's time to get to know you." She said to the pokeball.

She released her first Pokémon from its ball. The Pokémon slowly woke up from what seemed to be a great nap. The little Pokémon stretched its arms and cheerfully greeted Shantel.

'Hello Mistress how are you' a voice said permeating in Shantel's mind.

Shantel jumped back in shock. She didn't expect this. She had heard of Pokémon like this, if she remembered correctly this Pokémon had to be a psychic type Pokémon. If it was a psychic Pokémon, then maybe it was reading her thoughts.

'That's right!' the voice replied.

Shantel mulled over this new information. It was kind of cool to have a Pokémon that could read her thought. She wondered if she could somehow communicate back.

'Hello,' Shantel thought, on her Pokémon.

'Oh you're communicating back, mistress.' The Pokémon replied telepathically.

"You don't have to call me that" Shantel replied out loud. "That's a little too formal. Just call me Shantel."

'Shantel' the Pokémon mulled. 'I like it a lot!"

"So is there anything I can call you?" Shantel asked. "I don't know the name of your species. I'm not familiar with this region's Pokémon."

'Hm I've don't know.' The Pokémon mulled. 'I'm just Ralts to most other Pokémon.'

"Well would you mind if I gave you a nickname?" Shantel asked. "It'd be an awkward situation if I called for you, and another Ralts answered."

Shantel began thinking of the various nicknames she could think of. She thought of what she had felt when the capture had first happened. She had been angry about the move, but meeting Ralts had brought forth a sense of serenity. That word kept popping into her mind.

'It's perfect!' Ralts replied ecstatically.

"Alright then from here on out your nickname is Serenity." Shantel proclaimed.

In their excitement, neither Serenity nor Shantel, saw that there were eyes spying on her. From outside her room, Norman smiled. It seemed that Shantel connected well with her new Pokémon. He had known something was fishy when she had come home that late. He had two of his great balls suspiciously missing as well. He would let them have them fun for tonight. He could infer that she'd be leaving at the earliest chance possible. Shantel wasn't one to break important rules like the age limit. She must have figured it out, maybe from one of the residents of the city clued her in. Norman walked into the room that he shared with his wife.

"It seems like our daughter has already caught her own Pokémon," Norman commented.

"Not surprising, I saw her hoisting a Great Ball from the bushes earlier today." Lorna replied stifling a laugh. "It seems like she is going through great lengths to hide this from us."

"I hope she can wait till noon tomorrow." Norman said. "I really want her to meet Birch. We won't be able to give her a Pokémon, but we can still give her a friend."

Lorna silently agreed with Norman. They both said goodnight before going to sleep. They would need all the energy they could muster to stall Shantel tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 2: Start of Something New

_**Author's Note: Here now lies the second chapter of Shantel's Conquest! Since this story happens at the same time, I figured while Alana and company were in Mt Moon, I'd show what was happening on Shantel's Side. This chapter takes place during the two week gap that happens in Mt Moon. Just so no one gets confused '' indicates psychic conversation while "" is regular conversation.**_ _ **Without further ado, Enjoy the next chapter of Shantel's Conquest!**_

The sun rose on Petalburg stirring the Wingull from their slumber. They took off around the cost flying from the pier into the port side city. Shantel was cuddled with Serenity, both deep in sleep. Shantel had already packed her bags the night before, so once they saw Wally off they were going to announce their plans to her parents. Shantel and Serenity began to stir. They woke up, and Shantel began to stretch preparing the rest of the day. She got dressed choosing her outfit carefully. She would be using these clothes almost every day. She dressed in an orange long sleeve, with blue jeans to cover her legs. She grabbed a ribbon and tied her hair up to keep it from getting in her eyes. She took out her special gloves she had bought in Goldenrod, and slipped them on. They were black, and finger-less with grips on the palms Now that she would be questing, it would be best to keep her hair up, so she could be aware of her surroundings. She grabs her pokeball belt ,that her sister had gifted her, and attached it to her hip. She hid the belt using her sweater. She didn't want them to find out she had a Pokemon before she clued them in. She recalled Serenity to her Pokeball. She didn't want to wake her, so she'd let Serenity sleep in.

Shantel went downstairs once the scent of pancakes wafted into her room. She could tell something special was happening. She went downstairs to see that there were more people over. There was man, about as old as her father, in a lab coat with brown hair. Beside him was a young man with seemingly white hair. He wore a red and black track suit with black sweatpants. He had a green bandana to tied around his forehead. Her dad and the man were talking and laughing, while her mom made fluffy stakes of deliciousness. The boy looked at Shantel and smiled at her. She returned it with a grin of her own. She was in a pretty good mood right now.

'Shantel,' Serenity projected from her ball. 'Are we going yet? I can't wait to travel with you!'

'No,' Shantel replied. 'We still have to see Wally off.'

A hand waved in Shantel's face forcing her to snap back to reality. Her dad had been trying to get her attention, while she was communicating with Serenity. Everyone seemed to be waiting for her to take a seat. She quickly sat letting the breakfast begin.

"You're Shantel, right?" The man with the brown hair asked. He got a nod from her, since her mouth was full of pancakes. "I've heard a lot about you from Norman."

"What type of things?"Shantel asked after swallowing.

"Nothing much," He commented setting his bag on the table. "Just little things, like how you wanted to go on a journey when you came of age."

Shantel once again nodded. She kept an eye on her watch. It was 8:30, Wally was leaving a 9:00. She would head out shortly after that. She already had her bags packed, now she'd just have to get her trainer's license, and badge case.

"He also told me how you don't have any Pokémon of your own." The man continued. "Well we are here today to fix that."

"Huh," Shantel asked. She wasn't sure that she'd heard this man right.

"My name is Professor Birch," He commented introducing himself. "I study Pokémon in their natural habitats. Your parents and I happen to be very good friends. I heard that you were moving out here, so we arranged for you to receive your first Pokémon today."

Shantel nervously laughed, making sure Serenity's Pokeball was still carefully concealed.

"Normally you would have a choice, but we only have one left from the initial choose." Birch explained. "If you chose, we can give it to you."

This was so surprising, it could almost be funny. Shantel mulled over her options. She could lie and claim she had no Pokémon, to get a rare one from Birch. On the other hand, this could undermine her integrity. This would basically be stealing. Another young trainer could be in line to receive it, and she'd be taking that opportunity.

"That would be amazing," Shantel commented twirling her fingers. "But you're a little too late for that. I took one of the great balls that I was sent out for the other day and caught my own Pokémon."

She revealed Serenity's Pokeball from her belt. Sheepishly, she glanced towards her father. She had already taken two of the balls he had requested the other day. Would they be angry with her? Norman busted out in laughter, Lorna following the example. Shantel stood there believing that her parents had gone crazy.

"We've known since the other day." Lorna exclaimed. "We talked to Birch about it last night. He agreed to still provide you with this Pokémon."

"I appreciate you being honest about it." Norman commented after calming down. "I don't mind that you took the balls. They were irrelevant at the time. You didn't have to hide your Pokémon from us, either. Ultimately it was up to Professor Birch, and he had his mind set.

"With this information out there, I'd like you to have this Pokémon." Birch continued. "It wasn't chosen this year, so I'm pretty sure it'd like a home with you."

Shantel took the Pokeball giving thanks to Professor Birch for his generosity. She called on the Pokémon inside. After being released from the ball, a small blue Pokémon emerged from the light. It looked amphibious, but Shantel couldn't tell. She picked the small Pokémon so she could see it face to face. It looked at her and gave her a small smile.

"Its name is Mudkip." The boy in the room said breaking his silence. "He is almost newborn, so be careful with him. Here's his Pokeball."

Shantel nodded to let him know that she understood. She accepted the ball and returned the small Pokémon to its ball. She would love to get to know it, and come up with a nickname, but I had to see Wally off.

"Thank you very much!" Shantel said bowing towards the Professor and his son. "I would stay and chat, but I have to see a friend off!"

"Wait!" Norman called. "You're forgetting something. How are you going to become a good trainer without documents?"

Lorna and Norman presented her trainer card, and badge case to her. Tear began to form in her eyes when she accepted the items. The moment was almost ruined once the boy from before spoke up again.

"Hi my name is Brendan!" he said introducing himself. "Now that your an official trainer do you want to battle?"

"No," Shantae refused. "I have a friend that I need to see before I leave. In any other circumstance I would."

"Your an official trainer now." Brendan stated indignantly. "You now have to accept any challenges that come your way."

Shantel groaned. Of course he would bring that fact up. Shantel showed Brendan to her father's battlefield. It wasn't an official gym battle, but Norman gave her a nod to proceed. Shantel took her place on the one side of the arena, while Brendan stood on the other side.

"I have two pokemon on me as well, we can go two v two" Brendan stated.

"No," Shantel refused. "I only have time for a one on one."

Brendan sighed and accepted the terms that Shantel had lain. She didn't seem to happy that she had to battle him, but he needed to show her the requirements that came with being a trainer.

"Come out Treecko," Brendan demanded.

The small grass type Pokemon took the stage. It was a humaniod looking Pokemon with a green tail. It glanced at Shantel with a look of boredom. Shantel could guess that Mudkip would be at a disadvantage, so Serenity would have to fight this time.

"Serenity lets's do this!" Shantel called.

'Hi Shantel who do we have here?' she inquired. 'Are we in the middle of a battle? I've heard so much about them from Pokemon that would come back to visit their homes.'

'Yes, but we don't have much time.' Shantel explained. 'Do you know any good moves?'

'I know how to attack lightly with my psychic energy,' Serenity replied. 'I can teleport small distances, if that helps.'

'I already have a plan,' Shantel thought back.

"Treecko let's start the battle off! Attack with tackle,"

"Serenity defend by teleporting away." Shantel commanded then adding another psychic command. 'follow up with confusion.'

Shantel figured that giving commands this way could give her a tactical advantage. Her opponents would be thrown off this way.

Serenity focused her powers and teleported to the edge of the arena. Then she threw the Treecko into a wall.

"Treecko get up and use absorb to heal yourself."

'Don't let it hit you Serenity. Just keep dodging and using confusion. That Treecko can't keep this up forever.'

Brendan allowed his Treecko to fall into a hopeless pattern. Brendan was annoyed at how calm Shantel seemed. She didn't even seem to be commanding her Pokemon anymore. Wasn't she taking this serious. While he was contemplating all of this Treecko fainted making Shantel the winner. Recalling Serenity, Shantel didn't acknowledge Brendan instead she went to her parents and hugged them goodbye.

"I love you guys," Shantel declared. "Don't worry I'll come visit every once in awhile. I'm already all packed and ready to go."

"I already miss you," Lorna proclaimed. "Make sure you pay attention to your surroundings. Don't focus to much on your games."

"Make sure you get rest as well." Norman commented. "You want to get strong, but there is a balance to everything. As for journey purposes I'd suggest you head north. There you will find Roxanne, the rock type leader of this region. She lives in Rustboro City, just through Petalburg Woods."

Shantel nodded and ran upstairs to grab her bags. After one final goodbye Shantel left the house. Norman and Lorna looked onto their daughter preparing to let her go. She has her own journey to go on. She'd grow from her experiences and come back a stronger woman. Shantel left her new home and went right next door. She knocked on the door to get Wally's attention. Instead a man, about the same age as her father opened the door.

"Hello," he greeted. "Are you perhaps the young lady who helped my son catch his first Pokémon?"

"Yes," she answered.

"My name is Jefferson Quinn." He introduced. "I'm sorry to tell you Ms. Shantel, but Wally left a few hours ago. His uncle came to get him much earlier than anticipated."

"Oh," Shantae replied feeling disappointed. She had wanted to say goodbye to the first friend she had made in Hoenn.

"He asked me to give you this as a present." Jefferson continued.

He presented a small twisted spoon, and gave it to the young lady.

"He said that the Pokémon that you helped him catch was holding onto this." He explained. "That Pokémon told him that it belonged with your Pokémon."

Shantel accepted the gift gratefully. It seemed like today was the day that kept on giving.

"I appreciate the gift," Shantel thanked pocketing the small spoon. She'd give it to Serenity later. Shantel left the house after the disappointing development.

Shantel looked back on Petalburg once before she decided to leave, making her way onto route 104. She looked at the two Pokémon on her belt and smiled. This would begin her battle for the title of Champion. She'd have to get all eight badges to stand a chance at competing. She knew that she'd have to face Norman one day, but for now she'd travel and get stronger. She knew that without at least four badges she wouldn't be able to have a fun battle with her dad. Her first stop would be Rustboro, to challenge Roxanne. For now she would have to focus on her first obstacle Petalburg Woods.


	4. Chapter 3: On the road

Shantel sat on the port located on Route 104. She still hadn't introduced herself to the young Mudkip yet. She rolled the contracted Pokeball in her palm contemplating how she'd do it. She shrugged and decided to go with the flow. The small blue Pokémon emerged from a flash of red light. The small Pokémon shook its head seemingly waking up from a nap. It took in its surroundings before focusing in on its trainer. They shared an intense look, as if analyzing each other, before Mudkip blew a stream of water in Shantel's face. Shantel fell backwards in surprise. Then Mudkip jumped on top of her as if to claim dominance over Shantel.

"Alright you win, I guess." Shantel conceded.

The small blue Pokémon seemed satisfied by her admission of defeat. It jumped off of Shantel and began to hop around the beach. Shantel rolled her eyes and began to chase the Pokémon. She wasn't big on physical activity, in fact she was almost a walking skeleton. She could only keep up the chase for a solid ten minutes before almost collapsing. Tired out she finally decided to leave this up to Serenity.

'I'm exhausted, could you contain Mudkip for me?' She projected toward her psychic Pokémon. 'We still need to enter that forest today.'

Serenity began to interact with the Mudkip. The blue Pokémon tried it's water trick on her, but she stopped it with her psychic powers. Angered by this turn of events, Mudkip tried to tackle Serenity, but she warped out of the way. They repeated this process for twenty minutes before the Mudkip finally calmed down. With her own energy recuperated, Shantel was finally able to introduce herself to this energetic Pokémon.

"My name is Shantel," She introduced. "This is my other partner, Serenity. We are trying to conquer the Hoenn region. You want to travel with us?"

The Mudkip acknowledged both of their presences laying flat on its stomach. It sat up, gave them a curt nod, then preceded to sunbathe. Shantel smiled, it was a little cute when it wasn't darting around. She had the perfect nickname for it, too.

"Alright Mr. Mudkip, these last thirty minutes have been absolute madness. We had no idea how much energy you would have. If you wouldn't mind I'd like to nickname you." Shantel explained.

Mudkip once again nodded rolling onto his side, and yawning. He was enjoying the coolness of the aquatic breeze.

"Alright," Shantel declared. "I hereby declare you Chaos the Mudkip."

Chaos gave her a smile before jumping into the arms of his new trainer. Shantel embraced the Pokémon before recalling him to his Pokeball. She turned around, and saw that boy from her house watching her.

"You're good with Pokémon." He commented. "That's awesome! You'll befriend a lot of Pokémon that way."

"Thank you," Shantel said gratefully. "Sorry I'm not the best with names. What was yours again?"

Brendan deadpanned. He hadn't expected himself to be this forgettable. Shantel was the daughter of a gym leader, so Brendan had tried to make the best first impression he could. He guessed he'd failed.

"My name is Brendan," He replied sighing in disappointment. "I was sent here by my father. He wanted you to have this."

He dug in his pocket and pulled out a red rectangular device. He handed it to her and began to make his way back towards Petalburg. Shantel could see that she had created an awkward situation, so she tried to change that.

"Thank you Brendan." She said. "What is it, though?"

"I'm not sure myself," He replied. "I just got one myself. Apparently it's an encyclopedia containing every recorded Pokémon in the Hoenn and Kanto regions."

"That's amazing!" Shantel exclaimed excited at the new device to tinker with.. "You're dad invented this?"

"No," Brendan answered. "He got it from an old friend of his. He tweaked the design of the dex to include information from Hoenn."

"Well, tell your dad I said thank you." Shantel said. "I'm headed towards Petalburg to take on the Hoenn league."

"Good luck with that." Brendan said. "I'm heading that way as well. I'm traveling the region as well. I want to discover more Pokémon in this world."

Shantel waved her goodbye to Brendan and continued on her way. She tinkered with her newly acquired Pokedex. After fidgeting with this new device for a little she figured out that you could check the moves of your Pokémon.

Upon further inspection, she saw there was a scanning function on the dex. It seemed like it could scan a Pokémon in a Pokeball. Shantel took Serenity's Pokeball from her belt and set it on the scanner.

"Ralt," The Dexter explained. "The Feeling Pokémon; It can use the horns on its head to read human emotions. Ralts rarely shows itself to humans, but may occasionally approach when it senses positive or happy feelings. This Ralts is Female. This Pokémon knows the moves Growl, Confusion, and Teleport."

Shantel put Serenity back on her belt and put Chaos's pokeball on the same scanner.

"Mudkip," The Dexter explained. "The Mud Fish Pokémon; Mudkip uses the sensitive fin on its head to take radar readings of its surroundings. This Mudkip is Male. This Pokémon knows the moves Growl, Tackle, and Water Gun."

Shantel pocketed the marvelous device, and noticed the amounts of trees in the path were beginning to grow. She was beginning to enter Petalburg Forest. She would be in here for a couple days, if this forest was the same size as Ilex Forest. Shantel wasn't nervous at all. She'd been on small escapades like this before. She and her sister would do these things for fun. Multiple times, they had gotten all the way to Azalea City. There they had met the young sub leader Bugsy. Shantel would have to let him know about the bug type Pokémon she came across in this forest.

Thinking of Bugsy, she remembered that she had not spoken to Whitney since they had moved to Hoenn. She took her Pokegear out of her bag and tried to call her older sister. The Pokegear made an interesting noise before burning out completely. Shantel groaned to herself. She had forgotten to look for a repair shop in Petalburg. Her only means of communication would be fried until she got to Rustboro.

Shantel's POV

'Are you sensing an exit anywhere?'

'Yes, we are around two hours away from the exit."

We had been in the forest for five days after all. Green and shrubbery got old once you stared at it long enough. There were many new Pokémon for her to see. From blue seagull like Pokémon, to the small worm Pokémon I'd seen in these woods. I'd have to learn about the Pokémon of this region to conquer it. Maybe I should have spent a couple days researching before I left?

'Shantel,' Serenity projected abruptly. 'There's someone heading in this direction,'

'It's probably just another bug catcher,' I thought back, mentally groaning. 'Guess this is more experience for us, on the bright side.'

I got Chaos's Pokeball ready. I'd dispose of this trainer, and then finish my journey to Petalburg. A figure burst from the bushes and ran towards me at a shocking pace. I sidestepped the person and allowed them to trip over a bush in their haste.

It was a girl who looked about my age. It was sort of amusing watching her struggling to pull herself out of the shrubbery. I helped her up, struggling not to laugh. it wasn't like I liked the fact that she'd had fallen, it was just that she looked so funny while doing it.

"Are you okay," I ask muffling my mouth. "It seemed like you had a bad fall."

"I'm fine," The girl snapped. "I just lost my assistant, that's all."

The girl dusted her clothes off in an angry huff. She was wearing what seemed to be a work uniform of some sort. She wore a white button up shirt with a red tie. She had black dress pants on, but the uniform seemed to be worn. Her shirt was grass stained, and her dress pants where ripped and torn. It had seemed that she had been running for awhile.

"Are you sure," I press. She didn't seem like she was in the best shape at the moment. I didn't mean to pry, but she looked like she was in trouble.

"I'm fine," she fired back. "I'm just looking for the Pokémon named Shroomish! I like the Pokémon, and my assistant and I came out here to look for one."

"Alright, well I hope you find it," I reply.

I began to walk away from the lady. She seemed distressed, but if she didn't want help, I couldn't be bothered to continue to press her. I had my own things to do. I called on Chaos to help deal with the wild Pokémon. Serenity need to get some rest, and Chaos needed the training. After calling on Chaos, I pulled out the Pokedex. I had yet to figure out all its functionalities. It was a pretty complex device when you got past the formalities. It actually had a finger print scanning device on it. It was there to make sure the original user was the only one who could access the data within the small encyclopedia. Another amazing function it had was that it could give you the location of Pokémon you've scanned. Whoever made this had thought of everything. A lot of love went into making this device.

'Shantel,' Serenity projected. 'There's someone following you.'

'Eh it's probably the lady from before,' I report back. 'She's probably lost, and trying to Petalburg as well.'

'Are you comfortable with that?' Serenity asked. 'She's been trailing you for a while now. I don't sense any malice, but there is distress.'

'It's fine,' I reply.

I sat down in that area to take a quick break. If we weren't delayed, we would make to our first destination before the day was up! Maybe we could challenge the gym leader today. I pulled out a makeshift stew I had made out of berries. In my haste, I had forgotten to pack food, but I knew how to make food out of wildlife. They had taught us that in the trainer school in Goldenrod. I released my Pokémon and allowed them to enjoy my makeshift stew. If I were being completely honest, I could really go for something a little more sugary at the moment. Out of the corner of my eye, I spied an intruder coming into the scene. The person looked…odd. They were wearing something that made them look like a member of a pirate crew. They wear wearing a black bandanna with some type of insignia on it. They were wearing a blue and white stripped t-shirt, with gray pants. They also had a blue and white stripped socks complete with black shoes.

"Hey little girl," He shouted in my direction. "Have you seen a girl in a school uniform anywhere around here?"

I just shook my head no. I didn't trust this man. He was definitely up to something. The lady had mentioned something about an assistant, but this man gave me a bad vibes. I glanced over to where the lady had been hiding before, to see if she was still there. Sure enough the bush slightly rustled as if to confirm my suspicions. I lazily turned my attention back to the man. He seemed to be fuming at this point.

"I saw what you just did," he commented accusingly. "She's hiding somewhere in this clearing isn't she?"

"…"

There was no questioning it now. I had my suspicions before, but this confirmed it. It looked like this man was after the lady from before. It still could be the assistant, but wouldn't that lady have come out into the open if it was?

"Ugh! You're making a mistake." He shouted angrily. "I'm giving you one more chance!"

"…"

"That's it Poochyena let's deal with this annoyance." He commanded sending his Pokémon out."

Serenity teleported in front of the small dog Pokémon to protect me. The small dog was growling at me angrily. It was a small Pokémon with black and gray fur. If I had to guess, it was a dark Pokémon. It stood no chance against Serenity. She was part fairy type. There was always the chance it had a poison type move, but I doubted that this man was thinking about type coverages.

"Do we really have to do this?" I ask. "Can't you just ignore me and do whatever? It'd save us both some grief."

"Poochyena attack with bite," He commanded ignoring my proposition.

'Serenity take it out with disarming voice' I project.

The Poochyena was blasted with the mythical energy, and almost fainted immediately. It would only take one more hit to incapacitate the small dog Pokémon.

"I don't have time for this," He exclaimed angrily. "I have adult things to do in Rustburo! I won't forget your meddling!"

The man took off into the woods. Once I was sure that he was gone, I recalled Serenity and gathered my things. Once I finally got out the woods, I stopped to admire the flowers on this side of route 104.

"Hey wait a moment." The lady called from a distance. She ran towards me panting.

"What do you want," I ask pretending to be ignorant of the situation. "Weren't you looking for a Shroomish?"

"I happened to find one," She replied. I raised my eye to let her know I hadn't bought her shit. She had been following me for the past hour

"I'm not lying," she exclaimed angrily. "I'll show you."

She released a small green mushroom looking Pokémon. Now that I looked at it, it did look a little interesting. I took out the dex to get information on it.

"Shroomish," The dex explained. "The Mushroom Pokémon; Shroomish is a mild tempered and inhabits piles of rotting leaves inside of forest."

"Woah what is that!" She exclaimed. "It doesn't look like anything like what Devon produces."

"It's a Pokedex," I explain. "It's an encyclopedia for Pokémon."

"That's amazing!" She gushed. "It could revolutionize Pokémon research as we know it! Where did you get it?"

"I got it from Professor Birch." I answer. "But he got it from another Professor in Kanto."

"Could I see it for a moment?" She asked eyes sparkling.

I shrug and hand the device over. It didn't seem like she had any ill will. It came from pure curiosity, which I could respect.

"If it came from Kanto, then it would have to be Professor Oak." She inquired. "This could be huge development! Devon had something in development like this, but it wasn't this advanced!"

She inspected it for a couple more minutes before handing it back to me.

"My name is Amanda Stone," She said introducing herself. "I'm the current heir to the Devon Company. What's your name?"

"My name is Shantel Haruka," I comment. "I'm just a trainer trying to become Champion."

"You are, huh."She replied. "It'll take a lot of training. Our champion is one of the strongest out there."

"Well it was nice to meet you Amanda." I say. "I'll be on my way."

"Wait!" she exclaimed. "I still haven't properly thanked you for chasing off that Aqua grunt. He's been persistently chasing me for hours!"

She took a pokeball out of her and handed it to me. Upon further inspection the pokeball had a small timer on it.

"It's a new pokeball in the works at Devon Corp." She explained. "It works better in situations where the battle is drawn out. To start the timing mechanism press the button above the timer during battle."

"Wow, thank you," I say.

"I'm heading towards Rustboru, too." She commented. "Hope to see you in the future. Stop by Devon Corp."

"Sure," I reply. "Once I get my badge I'll give you guys a visit."

I took a deep breath of the fresh air of route 104. It was only a little further now.


	5. Chapter 4: Rustboru Smackdown

**Author's Note: I swear to god I'm never doing this again :). I have seen to many red line today. My vision is now plagued with red line send help! All that aside welcome to the next chapter of Shantel's Conquest. This chapter takes place before Alana's Trail Chapter 13 just to avoid confusion. With that explained please enjoy the next installment in my story.**

"Rustboru, the city probing the integration of nature and science."

It was late afternoon by the time Shantel had entered the city. The rest of the walk from route 104 went relatively smooth. No crazy pirate people assaulted her, so that was an immediate plus. When she had gotten to Rustboru, she had gone straight for the gym. Upon realizing it was closed, she decided to check into the Pokémon Center. If anything was similar from the rural Johto, the Pokémon Centers had to be it. It comforted Shantel to finally see something familiar. The tropical environment of Hoenn had been bugging her for the past couple of days. It was hot, and humid compared to Johto's more normal climate. Shantel would have to get used to the constant beating of the sun. She could feel that heat that pulsed from the sun, even in the shade of the trees in the woods.

"Hello welcome to our city," Nurse Joy proclaimed welcoming her. "My name is Nurse Joy. How may I be of service?"

"Hi Ms. Joy," Shantel greeted. "My name is Shantel. I'd like to have my Pokémon healed." She gave her Pokémon over to the nurse, and settle in the lobby.

She picked up a small magazine about the local corporation and flipped through it. Devon Corporation seemed to be the center of the city. Shantel now knew from the brochure that the Hoenn Company built its roots here. Then they slowly put the town on the map with Devon's constant innovations. They have been a huge competitor of Silph Company in Pokeball development, and had made their own strides in the Pokémon Research. It was rumored that they were working on a way to revive Pokémon from the middle ages.

Becoming bored of the magazine, she set it down. She took out her handheld, and began to kill some time. She started a casual game of Tetris while she waited. Even though she wasn't serious she became a little frustrated with the Tetris God. She had the perfect column for a tetris, but she didn't get the line block until after she blocked the glory hole. Then she received three in a row.

"Miss Shantel your Pokémon are healed." Joy announced.

She turned her game off in frustration and collected her Pokémon. After thanking Joy Shantel left the center. She'd settle down for sleep later. Now was the time to get supplies. She entered the local Pokemart to get a couple of pokeballs and potions.

"Hello," The clerk greeted. "Welcome to the Pokemart. Anyway I can help you?"

"Yes," Shantel replied. "Are there any repair shops for Pokegear in this city?"

"You mean the phone made by Silph Company," The clerk inquired. "The one that doubles as a map?"

Shantel nodded and took the busted phone out of her pocket.

"Sorry, we don't have one in this city" The clerk announced. "In fact the closest one is in Mauville City."

"Okay," Shantel said. "You have any maps of Hoenn in stock? I'm new to this region, so I have no idea where that is."

"You can use this to find out where you're going." The clerk said cheerfully. "Welcome to the region! Are you here to take the gym challenge?"

"Thank you," Shantel said gratefully accepting the map. She opened it and studied it for a moment it seemed that Mauville City was a long ways away. She could either go through Rusturf Tunnel, or cross the sea and head north from Slateport. It would time consuming to do all that extra stuff, so Shantel decided she'd go through the tunnel. There was a gym in Mauville as well, so it'd be a double plus.

"If you want, I could sell you a Pokenav." The clerk suggested. "It's the newest product from Devon! It has a map built in, and it can give you condition of your Pokémon."

"No I don't have an amazing amount of money on me." Shantel admitted. "I'm just here to get some Pokeballs and Potions."

She returned the map to the clerk, and got her supplies. The tunnel shouldn't be terrible to go through. If she were to guess, the tunnel would be riddled with rock type Pokémon. Chaos would be able to clear that easily, but she'd worry about that late. On the way back to the town's Pokémon center she saw a battle taking place in the street. On one side there was a trainer who looked like she'd just gotten off of school. She wore a grey skirt over a white collar t-shirt. She wore long red stocking, that matched the tie she had on, and the ribbon in her hair. To finish off the outfit, she wore what looked like black ballet shoes.

The other girl had vibrate orange hair. She wore a blue jacket with black jeans. She had an earing on that looked like a small water drop. They were both beautiful ladies. Shantel found herself slightly blushing while she watch the spectacle unfold. They were having a fierce battle. The school woman was battling using a Golem, while her opponent was using a Golduck. You would think that the rock type would have been dominated, but the school lady seemed like she knew how to counter water type. She was using rocks as makeshift shield to misdirect the blast of water.

"Golduck use ice beam to freeze her rock shield," the orangette commanded. "Follow up with psychic."

"Golem counter by using Sandstorm," The student commanded. "Then hide with dig."

'Whoever these people were, they are experienced battlers,' Shantel thought to herself.

The fierce battle continued. Whenever it seemed one of them got the upper hand, the other countered with an equally brilliant strategy. Shantel was meticulously scanning what was going on. They were displaying some amazing battling skills, ones that she had only observed when her father and sister battled. Like all good thing, it had to come to an end. After stalemating for a good time they both recalled their Pokémon and called it quits.

"Thanks for the battle Ms. Anastasia," The student said gratefully. "I didn't know leaders from Kanto were so powerful. I look forward to battling you in the future."

"No problem Roxanne," Anastasia commented laxly. "You were a very tough opponent. I couldn't help but go all out! You're really an expert when it comes to rock-types!"

'These people were gym leaders? That would certainly explain the level of strength they presented.' Shantel thought once more.

"It seems our sparring has attracted a spectator," Roxanne commented focusing on Shantel.

"Oh it did?" Anastasia asked turning to face Shantel. "Here I thought if we waited till the dead of night, we'd be able to have so alone time. So miss, what's your name."

"My name is Shantel Haruka. I come from the Johto region." She commented introducing herself. "Could I ask for your names?"

"My name is Anastasia Waterflower.'" She replied. "This is my friend Roxanne Summers. We're both gym leaders, but I'm from Kanto."

"You're Roxanne?" Shantel exclaimed. "I want to battle you for a badge! I know that the gym is closed at the moment, but once you open tomorrow I'll come through and defeat you!"

Roxanne seemed shocked by the sudden proposal. Roxanne was used to people challenging her on the fly, but this girl was glowing with determination. It made Roxanne want to go all out against this lady.

"My gym opens at 8am sharp." Roxanne informed. "I'm assuming that this is your first badge. Am I correct?"

"Yeah this is my first ever attempt for a gym badge." Shantel replied. "I'll be the first one there!" She figured the talk was over so she began to walk away. The faster she fell asleep, the faster morning would come.

She called on her two Pokémon to prep them for their first battle. Serenity, and Chaos seemed to be pumping themselves up as well.

"We have our first gym battle tomorrow." Shantel explained. "From what I can tell, Roxanne is a rock type specialist. We'll have to rely on Chaos's water moves to win. Her Pokémon will be slow, so we'll take advantage of that. Chaos you'll go first so we can try to sweep her team. If we can't do that, Serenity you'll bring up the rear just in case we can't finish her team off. For now we'll rest up for tomorrow"

Chaos ran around the room jumping on the bed dashing between the desks and jumping on the table. He only slowed down to show that he understood the situation. Then he cuddled with himself to sleep. Serenity took a bow towards Shantel before settling down herself.

When morning finally came Shantel was ready. She threw the covers off of herself and hurried out of the center. She wanted to be the first person to battle Roxanne. Shantel approached the door to Roxanne's gym. Shantel paused for a moment to catch her bearing. Her heart was beating so wildly. She had just entered this region, but she was already challenging a gym leader. She was about to face her first real challenge. This would determine if she really had the skills required of a champion. She took a deep breath and threw the doors open. She could see Roxanne already prepped for battle standing across the area. Anastasia was in the stands ready to watch the action. Shantel took into consideration the type of arena they were battling on. It was a dirt based arena. If push can to shove, Chaos could take an advantage of this setting.

"My name is Shantel Haruka," She proclaimed. "I'm here to issue a gym challenge."

"Alright challenger Shantel," Roxanne said. "How many Pokémon do you have?"

"I currently have two Pokémon on hand," Shantel answered.

"Then this shall be a 2v2 battle," The referee announced. "The battle will go until one side's Pokémon are unable to battle. The challenger is allowed to switch, but the leader may not. Do both parties agree to these terms?"

"No problems here," Shantel replied.

"I have no issues," Roxanne said.

"Then let the battle commence!" He announced.

Battle Begin!

"You're up first Chaos come on out!"

"Geodude I'm counting on you."

"Chaos let's start this out with a mud slap."

"Geodude power through it, and use rock polish."

The mud splashed all over the Geodude doing minimum damge, and then the small rock polished itself making it shine and shimmer. Shantel deadpanned. Was the whole point of that move to make the Pokémon look prettier? Why was she using that move? Shantel decided to ignore it, and continue on the offensive.

"Chaos blast it with a water gun attack!"

"Geodude block it with rock throw, then use rock polish once more."

A steady stream of water made its way towards the small rock type Pokémon. The response was similar to what Shantel had witnessed the night before. She had called that attack to see how Roxanne would respond. Now that she knew that she'd respond that way, she'd make a mental note of it. Shantel needed to know what that move would do. She pulled out her Pokedex to get information.

"Hold on challenger!" The referee said. "No outside devices allowed.

Shantel sighed and put the dex away. It looked like she'd have to figure out the mechanics of the move. It'd clue her in to why Roxanne kept using it.

"Mudkip jump back and keep your distance. Use mud slap once more."

"Geodude go on the offensive with gyro ball."

The Geodude blasted across the arena and slammed into Chaos. He flew back and was slammed into the arena wall. Shantel gasped in surprise. That Geodude was much faster than she had expected it to be. She didn't know, but there was something there. She just wasn't connecting the dots properly. Now she'd have to switch up her strategy. Sure the geodude now out sped her Chaos, she'd have to resort to slowing it maneuverability down once more. Maybe she could use this new speed against them. Chaos slowly got to its feet shaking off it's dizziness. Despite the speed of the attack, it didn't seem like it do a ton of damage. Maybe the move wasn't very effective?

"Chaos we can still do this. Begin using water gun target Geodude."

"Geodude, power through it using gyro ball, then follow up with tackle."

Mudkip blasted a steady stream of water at the Geodude. The water came into contact with Geodude, but the water sprayed all over the arena. Once it powered through the water attack Geodude flew towards Mudkip.

"Chaos it's time to put your infinite energy to use. Dodge and use Mud Sport."

Mudkip tried to slide out of the way of Geodude's attack, but it still was clipped by the flying rock. Once Geodude hit the ground however, it slide across the arena and slammed into the wall. Shantel smiled as her improvised strategy came to fruition.

Chaos keep it up, use water gun on the field."

"It looks like your trying to turn my Geodude's mobility against me. Geodude try to get in a final tackle!"

Geodude smashed into Chaos, the force of the attack blowing him back as well. Shantel knew that Chaos was at its limits, so this would be there last attack.

"Chaos it can't go anywhere now. Finish it off with water gun."

As the two Pokémon were in mid flight, Chaos forced a stream of water in Geodude's face. Geodude was blasted in the opposite direction of Chaos. Both Pokémon hit the gym floor and slid into the opposite walls of the gym. Geodude fell onto the ground and fainted, while Chaos landed on its feet. Chaos fell to one knee and began to pant.

"Good job Geodude, you deserve a rest. It's up to you now Nosepass."

"Chaos we have one more to go… Huh?"

Shantel and Roxanne's battle paused for a second. Something weird was happening to Chaos. He was beginning to glow white. Shantel looked unto him with awe, while he began to grow and change shape. He finished morphing as the light exploded off of him. He was so much different now. Chaos used to be small and cute, but now he was nearly double the size. He now had three big fins, and his cheeks were less spikey. He definitely seemed more powerful.

"I can't believe that you evolved Chaos!" Shantel squealed. "This is so awesome! Let's finish this battle, then celebrate."

"It's great that your Pokémon evolved, but that doesn't change the situation." Roxanne commented. "Nosepass use Magnitude."

The ground began to shack violently throwing Chaos off its feet. Even though it had evolved, that didn't save it from being knocked out. Disappointed in herself for letting her guard down, she returned Chaos to his ball. It was Serenity's time to shine.

"You ready Serenity? We need to finish this off."

"Nosepass attack with rock throw."

"Serenity dodge with double team." Shantel commanded. 'Now use Confusion,' She added psychically.

Serenity created many duplicates of herself to confuse the opposing Nosepass. Then it picked the boulder Pokémon up then threw it into the ground. The Pokémon slid across the arena coming to a stop halfway across the arena.

"Follow up with a magical leaf attack." Shantel called.

"Nosepass reduce the damage with Harden." Roxanne said. "Then use block."

The barrage of leaves homed in on Nosepass while the hardened its body. By making it's body harder it was able to survive the attack. Then it began to grow red. After doing so it threw the glow towards Serenity causing her to take on a red hue.

"Serenity shake off the attack with Teleport."

Serenity tried her best to teleport, but she found herself unable to. Panicking, she sent a psychic message towards Shantel.

'I can't, I can't!' She thought frantically.

'Calm down,' Shantel responded. 'It must be that attack she just used. We just have to work around it. Can you still levitate?'

'Yes,' Serenity replied regaining her composure.

Serenity began to float using her psychic powers. Shantel would have to make do with the fact that she had lost a lot of options.

"Nosepass use Rock Tomb."

Nosepass threw a bunch of rocks towards Serenity, pinning her into the ground. Serenity cried out in pain causing Shantel to flinch. She had no idea that Roxanne had a move so powerful in her arsenal. Serenity wouldn't be able to take another one of those without fainting. Shantel would have to play the rest of the match cautiously. Serenity slowing picked herself up and took a battle stance. She understood that Shantel would want her to continue so they could triumph.

"We can do this Serenity, throw a rock at that Nosepass with confusion."

'Then follow it up with Magical Leaf.'

Nosepass was assaulted by Serenity and Shantel's combined attack. Shantel could tell that she was beginning to whittle the rock Pokémon down. By the look of how effective their attacks were, Shantel could infer that Nosepass was a pure rock type Pokémon. It hadn't moved since the battle began, so it couldn't be very fast.

'Serenity your reading my mind correct?' Shantel asked. 'If so, take advantage of this information,'

Serenity turned and nodded.

"Serenity use double team, then combo it with magical leaf."

'Start building up your psychic energy. We need to be ready to counter if she uses rock tomb again.'

"Nosepass increase your defenses with curse." Roxanne commanded. "Then slow her down with thunder wave."

"We'll just have to power through. I believe in you Serenity."

"Belief can be nice, but results are more important in this situation," Roxanne replied. "Continue to boost up with curse."

'Serenity make yourself harder to hit, we have to hold out for just a little more.' Shantel projected.

Serenity began to create an army of clones using double team to counter Roxanne strategy. If she could stay on the defensive she'd have the chance she was looking from.

"Trying to dodge my next move; huh." Roxanne inquired. "It won't matter much, Nosepass has just hit full power! Finish this with Rock Slide."

A huge buddle of rocks flew in the air towards Serenity. All of her clones were destroyed, but Serenity finished charging energy.

"This is our chance!" Shantel exclaimed. "Ralts release your energy and turn the attack back with a full powered confusion attack. Push those rocks back at that Nosepass."

Serenity let the psychic energy that she had been stockpiling loose as she forced the attack to rebound on Nosepass. The sudden burst of energy blasted Nosepass, and pelted it with its own attack. Nosepass fell to the ground and fainted. It could no longer fight. Shantel released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She ran to Serenity, picked her up and spun her in her hands. They had done it! They had won! Roxanne sighed and returned her Nosepass to its Pokeball. She was sort of disappointed, but she was happy at the same time. She was able to test out some strategies she wanted to use in the near future.

"Ms. Shantel this the Stone badge." Roxanne explained. "You have earned this badge through you and your Pokémon perseverance in this battle."

Shantel felt tears gather in her eyes. This was her first real accomplishment in the field of Pokémon. She and her team had risen to the occasion, and had beaten Roxanne in a fierce battle. She accepted the badge, and placed it in her badge case. The seven empty slots left were ready to be filled.

"Your improvisational skills are excellent," Roxanne complimented. "Your ability to strategize could use some work, however. I assume your first strategy was to defeat me using your Mudkip?"

Shantel smiled sheepishly, that wasn't completely wrong.

"Just as I thought," She continued. "If you want to go further, you've got to know how to prepare for a match."

"Thank you for the advice." Shantel said while bowing. "Thank you for the battle Roxanne. I'll use this battle as a stepping stone to improve myself."

"You're a confident one." Anastasia commented from the sidelines. It had looked like she had enjoyed the battle Roxanne and Shantel. "I would love to battle you if you ever come to Kanto. I'm the sub leader of Cerulean. Stop by if you ever get the chance."

Shantel nodded towards Anastasia and exited the gym. She was exhausted from the battle, and wanted nothing more than to sleep. She yawned and stretched on her way to the Pokémon Center. Tomorrow she would head towards Mauville City for her second badge. As she was walking a man slammed past her.

"Ouch!" She exclaimed.

"Get out of my way," He yelled running towards the exit of Rustboru.

Shantel had no idea what just happened. Wasn't that the man from the forest? What was he doing here? Shantel was caught up in her thoughts as she was approached by a frantic looking Amanda. She seemed like she was chasing after the man from before.

"Shantel thank goodness." Amanda sputtered out. "That man from Team Aqua! He's up to no good again. He stole the parts going to Captain Stern! I have to get them back. Could you help me?"

Shantel sighed and nodded. She couldn't leave a friend hanging like this. She and Amanda tracked the man to Rusturf Tunnel. They ran into an old man named Briney who's Pokémon was stolen. They had promised that they would retrieve the Pokémon and return it to him.

"This is a pleasant coincidence," Shantel commented. "I was heading this way any way. I needed to get to Vendanturf Town through this tunnel anyway."

"That'll be tough." Amanda commented. "There's a reason why trainers don't come through here. It's a dead end. We're lucky that this man ran here."

"So how do I get to the next town?" Shantel asked.

"Worry about that later." Amanda commented. "The man is just ahead."

The Team Aqua grunt was freaking out as he realized he was trapped.

"It was supposed to be an easy job," He complained. "All I had to do was lift from parts from the heir of Devon corp. Who knew she was such a persistent jackass. Her little friend was no exception."

"You shouldn't have tried to get away with this thievery," Amanda retorted. "Of course we'd track you down! Those are precious parts for a friend of my dad's."

"I'm just here to stop you from doing wrong." Shantel commented casually.

"Gr you meddlers, this time I have a hostage!" He announced.

"You do," Shantel asked sarcastically.

Shantel had called on Serenity while the man was panicking. She had already teleported Peeko to safety. Currently Amanda and Shantel held all the cards.

"Curse you two." He said angrily. "You can have the stupid parts back. I'm out of here!"

The man dashed away from the two ladies leaving them by themselves. The two headed back to Rustboru to return the parts. Amanda went ahead of Shantel to explain what had happened to her. Amanda came out to the door and grabbed Shantel by the hand.

"My father wants to meet with you." Amanda stated, escorting Shantel into Mr. Stone's private office.

"So you're the Shantel I've heard so much about," Mr. Stone commented. "I appreciate how you helped my daughter so much over these past two days. She usually is pretty responsible with her task, so it was scary learning Team Aqua was after her."

"It was no big deal," Shantel replied. "If someone needs help, then help them. That's what my parents taught me anyway."

"Than your parents are pretty good people," Stone replied. "Anyway that brings me to my question. Would you be willing to travel with my daughter for awhile? She has some errands around the region to do, and I don't want her to get hurt."

"I'm not so sure," Shantel replied. "I'm trying to collect the gym badges, and I really need to get over that tunnel connecting Rustboru, and Vendanturf."

"We could provide passage to Dewford," Stone offered. "There's a gym there, and it's the first stop for Amanda. I have an old friend, Briney, who could ferry you across the sea. A group of trainer recently helped him save his Wingull, so he's in an amazing mood."

"I guess I could do it," Shantel announced. "But I need someone to fix my Pokegear. I have no map, or way of navigation. I got through Petalburg Forrest through dumb luck."

Amanda smirked and took an item from her badge and presented it to Shantel. It was a blue gameboy advance sp looking device with a similar button scheme.

"I want you to have this, from you to me," Amanda announced beaming. "It's the newly finished version of the Pokenav."

"Oh this is the gadget the clerk at the Pokemart was trying to sell me." Shantel commented tinkering with her new plaything. "If I recall correctly, it has mapping capabilities, and the ability to check on my team?"

"Oh this is the new version upgraded by yours truly." Amanda bragged. "It now has a call function, and can tell you the locations of Pokémon you've come across. It's not advanced as that Pokedex thing you have, but it's pretty impressive in its own right."

Shantel smiled at the prospect of getting to learn how a new device worked. For the time being, she could use this as her new pokegear. She'd just have to transfer her contacts over.

"I greatly appreciate your generosity," Mr. Stone said gratefully. "If you ever need any help from the corporation, don't hesitate to ask."

Shantel and Amanda arrived at the dock a week later. They would ride to Dewford on Mr. Briney's boat. It would be another week, but Shantel was confident that she would be able to obtain her next gym badge on that island. Then it would be off to Slateport City. This request would be a piece of cake!


End file.
